Blue Sky Funders Forum

The Story of Us

700+ stakeholders, 35 partners,
1 compelling narrative

​To elevate the critical role that nature can and should play in people’s lives, Blue Sky Funders Forum engaged Seven November to lead a collaborative, multiyear process to develop a shared narrative for the field—an engaging story to reshape how people think about and prioritize the outdoors and its benefits. Findings from engaging nearly 700 funders, practitioners, researchers, and policymakers in stakeholder surveys and interviews confirmed the current narrative is that time spent in nature is a ‘nice to have.’ Through additional research, message testing, and deep listening, we discovered that when the benefits of time spent outdoors are expressed as a basic human right, one that everyone deserves the opportunity to experience, that opens the door for new awareness and action.

From Nicety to Necessity

​Equipped with these insights and incorporating widely shared values for strengthening communities and advancing equity, we crafted a new, shared narrative and strategic messaging platform for the Blue Sky community. This new messaging moves the vital work of connecting people with the outdoors from a nicety to an absolute necessity.

The new narrative is coming to life through the Rethink Outside campaign, a public engagement initiative designed to increase equitable access to the outdoors and its many benefits.